Closure apparatus



CLOSURE APPARATUS Filed May 11, 1936 @or C. 55m/EE,

M 47am@ [moei/doit' Patented Mar. 23, 1937 PATENT OFFICE CLOSURE APPARATUS Roy C. Beaver, Greenville, Pa.

Application May 11,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to aids for the unloading of hoppers and the like and more particularly to apparatus for facilitating the introduction of steam into the bottom of hopper-cars to thaw 5 frozen lading.

In winter months, the lading in hopper-cars often becomes frozen solidly to and in the car. Much diiliculty is experienced in thawing out such lading so that it can be easily unloaded.

The principal method now in use is to thaw out the lading by means of steam thereby permitting gravity to unload the hopper. In many cases'it is diflicult to properly introduce steam into the lading so as to rapidly and efliciently thaw it out. Consignees of the frozen lading have gone so far as to burn or knock holes in the outside hopper sheet so they can introduce steam pipes directly into the lading. Of course, hopper-cars are used for many fine ladings, such as sand, gravel or slack coal, and if these steam pipe holes are not covered, when not in use, a considerable lossage of such fine lading would occur. At present, many cars are equipped with holes or apertures in the sides of the hopper-cars and attempts have been made to cover or seal such openings when not in actual use.

Present covering means are not entirely suitable, however, and they are open to several criticisms. Many of the present covering means can not stand the rough usage to which hopper-cars are subjected and soon are damaged by being bent or broken so as to render them ineffective as a cover. Many covers have parts made of castings which are apt to break. Then some covers are attached to the cars by chains; the chains have been found to break, rust through or be otherwise damaged and the covers are either lost or become useless. Other covers slidev in grooves, which tend to become filled with dirt or rust making the operation of the cover very diflicult so that cleaning the grooves is necessitated. Ordinarily this required cleaning is not done and the cover is not used. Other covers in the form of plugs may come out when the car is in transit or, once removed, are never replaced.

It is the general object of this invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other diiiiculties of and objections to known means for covering openings for steam pipes in railway hopper-cars and the like, when such holes are not in use.

In accordance with the patent statutes, one best known form of the invention will now be described, the same being illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

1936, Serial No. 79,151V

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a railway hoppercar embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of one of the hoppers oi the car of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation showing the port and closure parts of this invention in detail.

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is sectional View taken on the line V--V of Figure 4.

In describing the particular form of the invention shown in the accompanying drawing let the numeral 2 indicate a standard railway hopper-car with the hoppers 3 as regular equipment. The outside hopper sheet 4 of the hopper 3 has an aperture or port 5 near the bottom thereof. Similar apertures are in the other hoppers 3 and may also be placed in the opposite'sides of the hoppers. A 'metal plate 6, formed with right angle flanges 'l and 8 on its upper and lower edges respectively and provided with an aperture 9, is mounted on the outside hopper sheet 4 by means of two metal guides Il] and Ii iixed to the outside hopper sheet 4 by any suitable means such as bolts or rivets. The metal plate 6 is made from a suitable composition so it will have the desired ruggedness and toughness and can witlistand the rough usage `to which a hopper-car is subjected. The aperture 9 in the metal plate 6 is so positioned, that by lifting the metal plate 6 up in the guides I 0 and II, it may be made to coincide with the aperture 5 in the outside hopper sheet 4 of the hopper 3, and thereby expose the lading to any desired external force such as the introduction of a steam pipe into the lading.

The metal plate 6 completely occupies the guides I0 and Il at all times and thus prevents dirt or rust from retarding its motion in the guides I0 and Il. The right angle flanges 'l and 8 of the metal plate 6 function as stops to limit the movement of said metal plate 6 in the guides I0 and H and also to present a convenient target for hammering or otherwise applying force to the metal plate 6 to move it up or down in the guides I D and Il, when necessary. However, the invention contemplates a loose fit of the metal plate 6 in its guides lll and l I so that the metal .plate 6 will be pulled by gravity to its lowest position in said guides Ill and Il and thereby automatically seal the aperture 5 in the outside hopper sheet 4.

It will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited to the specic form illustrated and described but is actually dened by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a hopper of a railway hopper-car, at least one end wall provided with an aperture through which steam pipes and the like may be introduced, guides substantially Z-shaped in cross-section secured in a substantially vertical position on said hopper end wall, a closure plate having an aperture therein adapted to be registered with the aperture in said hopper end wall and having a solid closure portion, said closure plate being loosely mounted in said guides and being constructed and arranged to permit gravity to move said aperture in said closure plate out of registry with said aperture in said hopper end wall and means on said closure plate and cooperating with said guides for limiting the movement of said closure plate relative to said guides.

2. In a hopper of a railway hopper-car, at least one end wall provided with an aperture, guides substantially Z-shaped in cross-section secured in a substantially Vertical position on said hopper end wall, a closure plate having an aperture therein adapted to be registered with the aperture in said hopper end wall and having a solid closure portion, said closure plate being slidably mounted in said guides so as to permit a vertical sliding movement to move said aperture in said closure plate into and out of registry with said aperture in said hopper end wall and integral outwardly extending flanges on the upper and lower edges of said closure plate and cooperating with said guides for limiting the movement of said closure plate relative to said guides, said flanges being adapted to receive hard shocks or blows.

3. In a. hopper of a railway hopper car, at least one substantially vertical wall provided with an aperture through which steam pipes and the like may be introduced, a pair of guides substantially Z-shaped in cross-section secured to said wall to provide a vertically extending space therebetween, a solid closure plate having an aperture therein adapted to be registered with said aperture in said wall, said closure plate being loosely mounted by said guides and being of materially greater length than said guides to permit a vertical sliding movement of said closure plate to move said aperture therein into and out of registry with said aperture in said wall, the construction and arrangement of said closure plate being such that the aperture therein is normally held by gravity in non-registering position with said aperture in said wall, and integral outwardly extending flanges on both ends of said closure plate cooperating with said guides to limit the movement of said closure plate relative to said guides, said iianges being of suicient strength to receive hammer blows or the like.

ROY C. BEAVER. 

